Tablet-machine



(No Mdel.) l v4 Sheetsf-Sheet 1.-

W. vPREGR. TABLET MACHINE;

No. 599,691. Patented-Peb. 22, 1898..

"nullx M m"- f A u mi! (No Model.) 4 Sheets-'Sheet 2.

' W. FRECKQ TABLBT MACHINE.v No. 599,601. y 'Patented Feb. 2z; 1999.k

i UNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM FRECK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TABLET-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 599,601, dated February 22, 1898.

Application filed March 15, 1897.

To a/ZZ whomV t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM FRECK, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, inthe county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tablet-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in tablet-machines of the class adapted especially to the use of the retail druggist and intended particularly to form physicians prescriptions of. powdered material into tablets of any desired weight.

To this end the machine comprises a suitable frame or standard, a bracket supported on the standard and for-med with a preferably vertical socket or die, a lower compressor vertically adjustable in the die for the purpose of varyin g the amount of material received in the upper end of the latter to form the tablet, a vertical movable upper compressor adapted to compress the material into a tablet, means for operating the upper compressor to form the tablet, means for operating the lower compressor to eject the tablet, and a suitablesupply vessel resting upon the upper face of the bracket and adapted to be oscillated thereon, this supply vessel being formed with a downward vopening adapted when in one position to deliver the material to the die. The lower compressor, the means by which it is adjusted, and the means by which it is operated for ejecting the tablet are 'all so constructed and'` combined that no matter what the adjustment of the compressorymay be its upward movement in the ejectment Aof the tablet brings its upper end exactly flush with the upper face of the bracket, thereby bringing the tablet invariably into position to be swept away by the oscillation of the supply vessel and at the same time leaving no possibility of collision between the supply vessel and the compressor. This is a most important feature of construction,which will be pointed out and explained in detail in this specification. The entire invention is hereinafter fully described and explained, and it is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- .Figure l is a perspective of an entire machine, illustrating the various features of my invention in its preferred form. Fig. 2 is a Serial No. 627,604. (No model.)

central vertical section in the line 2 2 of Fig. 6, showing the operating-lever at the upper limit of its movement. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail vertical transverse section in line 3 3 of Fig. 2, showing the plunger at its lowest position, but showing in addition a supplem'entary supply-hopper used when making up large quantities of tablets. Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 2, with the exception that the operating-lever and certain other parts operated thereby are in different positions from that shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail horizontal section in line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is an end elevation looking in the direction of the arrow 6 in Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section in line 7 7 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 8 is a detail vertical section in line 8 8 of Fig. 5, the position of the hopper being changed and the view being upon a larger I standard is seen at A and has a flat base o,

provided withscrew-holes to enable it to be securely fastened upon a bench or counter. The bracket supported upon the frame is seen at B and contains a die C to receive the powder and confine it while it is being compressed into a tablet. Y The cross-section of this die is determinedr by the shape of the tablet desired, and the die is held in the bracket by means of a set-screw c, so that it may be easily removed and replaced by another of different `shape whenever desired. Directly-beneath the die a boss or a barrel D is formed upon the base, and said boss is bored from the bottom to form an upwardly projecting socket d, in the top of which is bored a smaller hole d', concentric with the axis of the die. callfor convenience the slower compressor, is arranged to reciprocate vertically, being guided in thedie at the upper end and in the hole d at the lower end. As seen here, this lower compressor is made up'of three partsnamely, a rod e, working vertically in the hole d', a collar 6, internally threaded to engage A plunger E, which I will l an external thread upon the top of the rod and securedagainst rotation upon the latter by means of a set-screw e2, and a plunger proper, which I will call the lower plunger e3, the top of which is tted within the die C and is guided therein during its vertical reciprocation and the bottom of which slips into the collar e and is held therein by means of a set-screw e4. Vithin the socket d the rod d is encircled by a spiral spring F, confined between the top of the socket and a washer f, secured upon the bottom of the rod, a screw f being here shown to answer such purpose. rlhe tension of the spring is eX- erted to draw the lower compressor downward, and the extent of suoli downward movement is limited by means of a knurled nut G, threaded to the rod CZ', so that it may be screwed up or down upon the same to adjust the lower com presser. The collar e' is notched upon opposite sides, as seen at e5, and a vertically-oscillating lever H, pivoted in the frame at h, is provided upon its forward end with a fork 7i', embracing the collar and titting loosely in the notches thereon, so as to reciprocate the lower compressor vertically whenever the lever is oscillated upon its pivot. The rear end of the lever is also forked, as seen at h2, and carries a pin 71.3, working in a slot i in a pitman I, pivoted at the top to an operating-lever J and adapted to be vertically reciprocated by said lever. The downward movement of the pitman is limited by means of a stop K, here shown as consisting of a screw threaded in the base a and vertically adjustable therein.

Above the die and concentric with the aXis thereof is an upper compressor made up of a second plunger M, which for convenience I will call the upper plunger, and which iS also fitted to the die C, so that as it enters the latter it may crowd the powder downward and compress it into a solid tablet, and a head m, in which is held the upper plunger, by means of a setscrew in', the head being vertically guided in a second bracket N, supported by the standard or frame. A portion of said head which extends above said bracket is pivoted to the operating-lever at m2, and between said pivot and that of the pitman I the lever is pivoted upon the upper end of a link O, the lower end of which is forked and pivoted upon the frame at o. This link allows the lever-pivot therein a slight movement forward and back with respect to the frame, the same being rendered necessary by the head m, which is vertically guided in the bracket N.

Upon the upper face of the bracket B an oscillating supply vessel or hopper P is pivoted by means of a vertical pin p, extending down through a vertical hole b in the bracket and provided below the same with a coiled spring p', resting at the bottom upon a split pin p2 and pressing at the top against the bottom of the bracket. This spring holds the hopper closely upon the upper surface of the bracket without causing undue friction thereon. The lower end of the spring is turned about the pin, as seen in Fig. 3, and the upper end engages the frame, as seen in Fig. l, so that the torsion of the spring tends to hold the hopper in the position seen in Fig. 5, where the discharge-opening in the hopper is out of register with the die. The interior of the hopper is preferably made suiliciently large to hold an ordinary prescription, and its bottom slants downwardly to an opening p3 at such a distance from the pivot that by swinging the hopper upon the latter said opening may be brought directly over the die C to allow the contents of the hopper to fall downward and fill the same. If the contents do not fall readily, the hopper may be rapped slightly against the frame of the machine. The lower sides of the hopper are connected by a hood p4, the object of which will be hereinafter described.

The lever J is of sufficient length to give a considerable purchase and is provided with a handle j of convenient size and form to be grasped by the hand. The downward movement of the handle lowers the upper compressor into the die and raises the pitman I, the latter sliding upward upon the pin h3 and being guided thereby at its lower end. The raising of the handle withdraws the upper compressor from the die and lowers the pitman I. Vhen the pinh3 reaches the top of the slot, the lever H is oscillated upon its pivot and the lower compressor is raised thereby until the lower end of the pitman strikes the head of the screw K. By adjusting this screw the limit of movement is so fixed as to bring the top of the lower compressor just flush with the top of the die. This adjustment is necessary only when the machine is first set up or thereafter when the lower plunger is taken out and replaced with` one of different length. It should be noticed that this adjustment is entirely independent of any vertical adjustment of the lower plunger, as the screw K limits the downward movement of the pitman I, which fixes the lowest possible position of the pin h3 and thereby determines the highest possible position of the lower compressor, and every time the handle is raised to its limit the pitman I will bring the pin h3 down to the same point, no difference where it happens to find it in its downward stroke. Vhen the handle is lowered slightly from its highest position, so as to relieve the pin h3, the lower compressormay be adjusted vertically by means of the nut G, which determines the limit of said compressors downward movement.

In the use of one of these machines the druggist compounds his prescription, weighs out a portion thereof sufficient to form a tablet of the desired size, and places such portion carefully in the die C, lowering the lower compressor, if necessary, by means of the nut G. When he has placed it within the die, he then carefully raises the lower compressor until the top of the loose powder in the die is brought just liush with the upper surface of the latter. Ile then pours the remainder of the prescription into the hopper P and is ready to make the same up into tablets. The handle is brought down,compressing the powder in the die into a tablet, and then raised as IOO IIO

onA

far as it will go, which lifts'th'e tablet up until its under side is just flush with the top of the bracket and die. The hopper is then oscillated upon its pivot to bring the opening in its bottom over the die, and in doing so the iinished tablet, which rests upon the top of the lower compressor, is pushed aside and into a discharge-spout S, by means of which it is delivered to a convenient receptacle for receiving and holding the same. As soon as the tablet is pushed away the handle is lowered slightly, allowing the lower compressor to` drop to the limit of its downward movement, when the loose powder in the hopper iills the die, and the hopper is swung back out of the way, scraping off the powder just flush with the top of the die and leaving therein exactly the quantity previously measured out. This operation is repeated until the entire prescription ismade up, and in doing'the same the operator need not remove his han ds from the handle and hopper,respectively, but may operate both continuously and rapidly as long as necessary. There is no necessity for timing the movementsof the two hands, the only requisite being that such movements be made in the proper order. Neither is there any necessity for accuracy of movement, as the position lof the various parts at the important moments are determined by the stops,

per I), and having an opening which may be.

brought to register with the opening in the die when said hopper is swung to that position. The funnel R is preferably provided with a set-screw r', by which it may be securely fastened to the hopper P. It has been found that in using damp powder it clogs the outlet in the funnel, and to overcome this I have provided an agitator r3. This agitator extends through the funnel and is formed with a hook upon one end, said end being near the outlet in the funnel, and is adapted to agitate the powder therein, so that it will readilyiiow intothe die. The agitator may be operated by simply pressing the same with the iinger, a spring r2 being provided for returning tlie same to place.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-- ters Patent- 4 l. Inamachine forformingpowderintotablets, the combination with a suitable framework of a die supported therein, an upper compressor arranged above the die and adapted to enter the same, a lower compressor arranged within the die and adapted to reciprocate therein, an adj ustable'v stop arranged tablet-machine provided with a die, an operating-handle, an upper compressor guided in the frame and adapted to enter the die and be reciprocated by said handle, of a lower vcompressor adapted to reciprocate within the die, provided with a spring tending to draw it downward in the same and an adjustable stop adapted to limit such downward movement, connecting devices between the handle and the lower compressor adapted to engage and raise said lower compressor and having a free movement with respect thereto in the opposite direction, and a stop adapted to limit the upward movement of the lower compressor; substantially as described.

3. In al tablet-machine, having a suitablysupported die, and suitablyguided upper and lower compressors adapted to coact with said die and form tablets, a handle pivoted to thel upper compressor, a link, pivoted to both the handle and a suitable support, a connecting device pivoted to the handle on the opposite side of the link-pivot from the upper compressor-pivot, and alever pivoted between its ends upon a suitable support,engaging the lower compressor upon one side of said support and the connecting device upon the other side of the support, whereby the upward movement of the handle may raise bothcompressors; substantially as described.

4. The combination with the frame of a tablet-machine having a suitable die and upper and' lower compressors adapted to bereciprocated-with respect to said die and to form tablets therein, of an oscillating lever pivoted between its ends to the frame, and engaging the lower compressor at one end, a handleV pivoted to the frame by means of a link, and also pivoted to the upper compressor at one side of said link, and a pitman, I, provided with 1a slot, a pin, h3, upon the-opposite end of the oscillating lever, and working in said slot, and apivot in the upper end of the connecting-rod, I, and in the handle, upon the opposite side of the link; substantially as described.

The combination in a tablet-machine and with a frame having a die, and a suitably-operated -upper compressor, of a lower compressor adapted to reciprocate in the die, and

having alimited downward movement, the

oscillating lever, H, pivoted to the frame between its ends and engaging the lower compressor at its forward end, the reciprocated ICO IIO

pitinan, I, engaging the rear end of the osoillating lever, and the adjustable stop, K, adapted to liinit the downward movement of said pitlnan; substantially as described.

6. A tablet machine having a suitable frame, a die thereon, aVertically-reeiprocated upper compressor guided in the frame and entering the die from above, a lowef oompressor having a plunger within the lower portion of the die and means for raising said plunger to eject the tablet, said lower compressor having a collar to receive and hold the bottom of the plunger, a rod held at its upper end in the collar and guided by the frame at its lower end, a spring upon the rod tending to draw it downward and an adjust- VILLIAM FRECK.

Witnesses:

CHAS. O. SHERvEY, R. O. BAILEY. 

